70 14 Habits of Highly Effective Disciples
to his divinity. This verse closely echoes John 3:16 in its language and
emphasis on the love that motivated God to send his Son. In the Gospel,
however, the desired response is belief. Here the focus is on love as both
the motivation for sending and the desired response from those who are
the recipients of this sacrifice which atones for sin.
Evidence of Our Relationship with God (1 John 4:11–16)
4:11. The author again addressed his readers as “Beloved,” (nasb) the
sixth and final time in this letter, as he exhorted them (and us) to love
one another. God is the motivation for us to love others because God
took the initiative and demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son to
be the offering which cleanses us from our sin. Jesus therefore becomes
the proof of God’s love and the reason we ought to love one another.
4:12. While no person has looked at God directly in all of the fullness
of his divine glory, some have been able to catch glimpses of God, per-
haps through a vision such as the one that Isaiah experienced (Isaiah
6:1–5). Moses also encountered temporary/muted manifestations of God
(Exodus 3:4–6 and 33:19–23). By becoming God in f lesh, Jesus became
the most significant manifestation of God’s presence. If, however, we
love with the same kind of unselfish, sacrificial love as God does, our
loving actions become visible manifestations of our invisible God. Our
love for one another provides evidence that God lives in us. His love has
become complete or reached its goal when we take the initiative to love
others.
4:13. Not only does our sacrificial love for one another provide evidence
that we abide in God, the presence of God’s Spirit in our lives offers
additional proof of our relationship with him. In 1 John 3:24, the pres-
ence of the Spirit is connected to obedience to God’s commands. In this
context, God’s Spirit is closely associated with the love that f lows from
our lives to those around us. Undoubtedly, the presence of God’s Spirit
in our lives creates the capacity for us to both obey God and demon-
strate our love for one another.
4:14 –15. Our testimony that Jesus is the Son of God also proves that
we abide in relationship with God. Those who saw God’s Son in the